Grateful Guitars Foundation Welcomes Matt Hartle with Historic Travis Bean Gift

In a heartfelt and overdue moment at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz during Grateful Sundays with the Hartle Gold Band on November 9, 2025, Grateful Guitars Foundation founder Andy Logan presented Santa Cruz/Bay Area mainstay Matt Hartle with a vintage 1977 Koa Travis Bean 1000 Artist, an iconic guitar now finding new life in the hands of a deeply deserving player.

“Grateful Guitars is thrilled to present Matt Hartle with this stunning vintage 1977 Koa Travis Bean 1000 Artist,” Logan shared. “Matt has been carrying the Garcia torch in the Bay Area for decades and we’re so stoked to amplify his passion with this gem. We can’t wait to experience the positive feedback loop between his stage and the floor!”

Hartle, known for his longstanding leadership in the Northern California Dead scene, has been a solidly deserving candidate for a long time, it just took the right axe to tie it all together. “There’s really no words to express how grateful I am to become part of the Grateful Guitars family by receiving this gift,” Hartle said. “It’s easy to see how players like Oteil Burbridge, John Kadlecik, and Warren Haynes would be selected for a sponsorship of this magnitude. I am seriously honored to be recognized by this organization, for the work that I have dedicated my life to. What a wonderful service they provide to our community of musicians.”

The scene was set months earlier, when Matt reached out to Andy with a long-standing dream of finding a Travis Bean. “Imagine my surprise when several months later, I opened a text from Andy with a link to one on Reverb dot com – single owner since 1977 – asking me if this one would do!” Hartle recounted.

The answer, of course, was yes.

With decades of experience channeling the improvisational spirit of Jerry Garcia through his work with the China Cats, Shady Groove, the Hartle Gold Band and more, and cultivating community through weekly jams, Hartle now joins the roster of Grateful Guitars Foundation artists helping to carry forward the legacy of live improvisational music equipped with an instrument built to inspire.